Earlier this year, Od Designs’ Steve Marsden was approached by Sandy Gilchrist, the Specialized Team mechanic and Ireland Track Team coach, to see if he could develop a better bike stand than was already commercially available. After discussing his requirements, Steve set-to and in short time had the basis of what Od Designs have named the “TrackStand“.
Sandy loved the first prototype Steve showed him and asked if Od Designs could produce another ten in time for the Irish team’s attendance at the World Tack Championships to be held at the new French national velodrome in south-west Paris.
The stands worked perfectly and the Canadian Team mechanic at the championships liked them so much he managed to prise six of them from Sandy’s grasp once the racing had finished!
Since then, Steve has refined the basic design of the TrackStand to make manufacture simpler and to make nesting large numbers easier – essential for teams where space in transport vehicles is at a premium.
In September, Steve presented Sandy with ten pre-production versions and, as before, he was delighted with them – so much so that he took them to Chicago for the World Triathlon Championships and then on to Richmond, Virginia for the World Road Championships.
Trips to Italy and France with the stands followed, for the Enduro World Series at Finale Ligure and Roc d’Azur in Frejus.
Sandy also used them at Grenchen for the European Track Championships, where the Russian Team showed a great deal of interest in them and in Cali, Colombia for the Track World Cup, where the Dutch Team asked how much they were likely to cost.
The cherry on Od Designs’ cake is that Sandy will be using the TrackStands when working for the Irish Track, Road and MTB Cross Country Teams at the Rio Olympics this year, and to mark their confidence in the TrackStand Od Designs showed it at The Cycle Show in London, prior to the recently launched Kickstarter campaign.
About the TrackStand
The TrackStand is made to be lightweight, compact and sturdy and has the ability to be connected to other TrackStands to make access to and presentation of the bikes easier, with the added benefit that the more TrackStands connected the more stable the whole structure becomes.
The TrackStand supports the bike by the chain and seat stays on either side of the bike and is fully adjustable in order to accommodate a large range of frame types, from the lightest of track bikes to the heaviest of downhill MTBs.
We’ve been using a prototype of the TrackStand for a while in the VeloVeritas garage, and have found it a useful piece of kit; once it’s setup to hold the bike – which takes literally just a minute – it’s a doddle to pop the bike on and off the stand, making simple maintenance tasks like chain lubing, brake and gear adjustments quick and easy, with the bike being held upright and very stable.
When all the other bike hooks in the garage are in use by the rest of the ‘fleet’, it’s a nice way of storing the bike too, rather than leaving it leaning against the wall.
We’ve lived with similar stands before, some were of simpler design with detachable or folding arms, but the TrackStand folds down to a more compact unit than the different stands we’ve used before, so it’s easy to find a space for it in a packed car boot – very useful when travelling and needing to set up the bike before a race.
Od Designs intend to retail the TrackStand at £33.00 for individual units and in discounted sets of six and ten for clubs or teams. For teams the sets will feature their own bespoke tote bag.
Find out more about the TrackStand and other Od Designs products on their website,
and check out their Kickstarter campaign for the chance to grab a limited edition model.
